Obama to talk tourism in Cooperstown

President Obama will visit the home of the Baseball Hall of Fame in picturesque Cooperstown Thursday to give a speech on American’s biggest export industry.

No, it’s not baseball.

It’s tourism.

Tourism has registered a trade surplus since 1989, which means visitors to the United States have spent more here than Americans travelers have spent outside of the U.S.

In fact, the U.S. Commerce Department says tourism is the sector with the nation’s trade surplus.

The number of foreign visitors to the U.S. grew by 4.7 percent in 2013 to 69.8 million, according to the Commerce Department. Its forecast release last month predicts a 3.5 percent increase in tourists this year to 72.2 million.

“And if we make it easier for more foreign visitors to visit and spend money at America’s attractions and unparalleled national parks, that helps local businesses and grows the economy for everyone,” Obama said in his radio speech this morning.

In March alone, international visitors spent $15.4 billion in the United States.

The president’s visit to upstate New York comes on the heels of his Wednesday speech on infrastructure in Tarrytown near the Tappan Zee Bridge and his speech Thursday at the dedication of the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in lower Manhattan.